Welding guide



Feb. 8, 1949. B, w. WRIG T 2,460,914

WELDING GUIDE I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1945 ATTORNEY Feb. 8,1949. B, w, wRlGHT 2,460,914

WELDING GUIDE Filed pct. 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 8, 1949 WELDING GUIDE Ben W. Wright,Boonton, N. 5., assignor to Ourtiss-Wright Corporation, a corporation ofDela- Ware Application October 24, 1945, Serial No. 624,145

6 Claims. I

My invention, relates to a welding guide for use in automatic weldingapparatus.

My invention has particular reference to apparatus for attaching aplurality of layers of weld metal on a suitable surface preferably insidelay-side adhering relation.

My invention has further reference to apparatus for use in a weldingmethod involving the first step of effecting relative movement between aWelding rod and the work to attach a layer of weld metal thereto. thesecond step of changing the positional relation, transversely of thelayer of weld metal, between the Welding rod and the work, and the thirdstep of again effecting relative movement between the welding rod andthe Work to attach another layer of weld metal to the work.

Various other jects, advantages and features of my invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description.

My invention resides in the welding apparatus and arrangements of thecharacter hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention and for an illustration of one ofthe arrangements utilizable for practicing the same, reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elc-vational view, partly diagrammatic, illustratingWelding apparatus incorporating the invention;

2 is a plan View showing part of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, taken on the line3-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. l is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4&4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown a carriage E which comprises a pair ofspaced axles 2, Fig. 2,

carrying the respective wheels 3 supported by.

it which. has fixed thereto a laterally utilizable hereinafter de- :2;are. to the support H are a pair member: 53, is which extend it suppmteda complementary l5 the support ll. As shown, R between the contact'members l3, l3 and through the open lower portion of the funnel E4 andcircular section [5, the lower end or weldiir tip T of said welding rodB being close to the work W which, as shown, although not necessarily,is a section of a hollow steel propeller blade which is held in fixedposiing from the hopper I? through a suitable passage 3 to the funnel54. As the welding operation proceeds, the flux passes from the funnell4 onto the work W.

Welding current is supplied to the described apparatus by a transformer[9 having a primary winding lea and a secondary winding Hlb, oneterminal of the latter being connected to the work W by a conductor 28,the other terminal being connected by a conductor 2! to the contactmembers l3, !3 which, in suitable manner, are biased into engagementwith the rod B, so as to have good electrical contact therewith whileper-'- mitting said rod R to move therebetween as the welding operationproceeds.

Referring to Fig. 2, the carriage l moves longitudinally upon the tracks4 under the control of an electric motor 22, the armature of which isgeared to a shaft 23 which carries a gear 24 meshing with a gear 25 faston the axle 2. The tip of the welding rod R partakes of the longitudinalmotion of the carriage l but, as shown by Fig. 1, may move to the rightor left with respect thereto by reason of the pivotal connection betweenthe standard 5 and the bracket 6,

this latter motion being controlled as hereinafter described.

Welding apparatus of the general character referred to above is Wellknown in the art and is an example of one of several forms of knownapparatus which may be employed when pracmy invention. The speed of themotor 22 be controlled in known manner and by known mechanism to effecttranslatory movement of the motor 22 and associated parts along or withrespect to the rails i at a desired speed.

More particularly in the disclosed form of the in; tie-n and asillustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, the section of the hollow propeller bladeconstituting work. W is formed from a camber plate C a thrust plate T.Propeller blades of this type are well known in the art and, asindicated, the area of the thrust plate I is less, to suitable degree,than the area of the camber plate C and, acco dingly, when. the twoplates are associated in proper relation with respect to each other, agroove or channel g is formed at each edge of the propeller blade. TheWidth of this groove, throughoutat least a portion of the propellerblade, is such that it is only incompletely filled with weld metal whenthe welding rod R is caused to make only one pass or transit withrespect thereto. As a matter of fact, if the groove 9' is to be properlyfilled with weld metal throughout the width thereof, it is necessary forthe welding rod R to be passed a plurality of times longitudinallythereof. This, in accordance with the invention, is accomplished in anovel manner as hereinafter described.

Assuming that the work W comprising the plates T and C are suitably heldin fixed relation with respect to each other on the platform it, a cambar or member K is supported in fixed position at one side of said workW. The configuration of the cam bar K is so chosen that it issymmetrical with respect to the groove 9 which, as will be understood,is of curved configuration as imposed by the curved edge of thepropeller blade.

The arm i2 hereinbefore described may be slotted as indicated in Fig. 2.Extending longitudinally through this slot and journaled in the arm 92is a screw 26 having an operating wheel 21, at one end thereof.Coactable with the screw 26 is a nut member 28 having an integraldepending stem 29 on which is journaled a roller 36 coactable with theaforesaid cam bar K. If desired, as shown in Fig. 1, the nut member 28may carry. a pointer 3| which coacts with a scale suitably formed on thearm i2.

As hereinbefore stated, the bracket 6 is pivoted on the standard 5.Secured to the support H (which is carried by the bracket 6) is one endof a flexible member 32 such as a chain which passes over a roller 33journaled in a bracket 2.4 secured to one of the tracks 4, the other endof the member 32 carrying a weight 35. It will be understood that, withthis arrangement, the bracket 6 and parts carried thereby are biased ina counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 2, and, accordingly, the roller 30is held in engagement with the cam bar K at all times. Obviously, anyother suitable biasing arrangement may be utilized in lieu of the onedescribed above.

In view of the foregoing, it will be understood that operation of thewheel 21 causes the bracket to move either clockwise orcounter-clockwise with respect to the standard 5. In so doing, the

b tip T of the Welding rod R, is located with accuracy in a desiredposition and, as Will be evident. the wheel 2'! may thus be operated toposition the welding rod tip T vertically above a location near theinner corner of the groove g as defined by the meeting surfaces of theplates C and '1. Then, with the carriage I so positioned that thewelding rod tip T is properly located with respect to the groove g andwith the transformer !9 together with the rod-feeding motor 8 energized,the motor 22 is operated to move said carriage l in the proper directionand at the proper speed to cause a deposition of a layer of weld metalin in the groove g throughout a desired portion of the length thereof.As will be noted from Fig. 4, the width of this layer of weld metal 10is substantially less than that of the groove 9. Hence, in accordancewith the invention, the carriage I is returned to its original positionand, by manipulation of the wheel 21, the bracket 6 is moved to locatethe tip T of the welding rod R vertically above a location at one sideof but closely adjacent the aforesaid layer of weld metal w. Thereupon,the operation is repeated and a second layer of weld metal ml isdeposited in side-by-side preferably adhering relation with respect tothe layer of weld metal w which was first deposited.

When the groove g has a width as disclosed, the combined width of thelayers of weld metal to and 101 is less than that of said groove g and,therefore, in the manner described, such additional side-by-side layersof weld metal wl are deposited as may be necessary in order to obtain aweld metal layer throughout the entire width of the groove. Finally, byproper manipulation of the apparatus in a manner generally the same asdescribed, upper layers of side-by-side weld metal it? may be depositedon the previously deposited layers of weld metal w, 1122.

It is an important feature of the invention, then, that weldingapparatus of known form may have associated therewith mechanism such,for example, as the hereinbefore described cam bar K and partscontrolled thereby for efiecting pivotal movement of the bracket 6, orequivalent. With such an arrangement, side-by-side layers of weld metalmay readily and easily be deposited in a groove or on a selected planeor other surface.

rangement other than the one described above may be utilized for causingthe welding head and electrode tip to travel along side-by-side paths inorder to deposit the respective side-by-side layers of weld metal.

Although the invention has been described with respect to an arrangementwherein the work is stationary and the welding head movable with respectthereto, it shall be understood that the invention is not to be thuslimited. If desired, the work may move, for each welding pass, withrespect to a stationary welding head and, in order to obtain theside-by-side layer of weld metal, either the welding head or the workmay be shifted after each pass.

While the invention has been described with respect to a certainparticular preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it willbe under stood by those skilled in the art after understanding theinvention, that various changes and modifications may be made Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intendedtherefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. Welding apparatus comprising a support for the work, a secondsupport, means carried by said second support for feeding a welding rodtoward the work, means for eifecting relative movement between thesupports to attach a layer of weld metal to the work, a cam secured tosaid work support, guiding mechanism carried by said second namedsupport for cooperation with said cam, and means for adjusting thepositional relation of said mechanism to said carriage to thereby varythe positional relation of said welding rod with respect to the workwhereby successive sideby-side layers of weld metal may be deposited onthe work.

2. Welding apparatus comprising a carriage, means carried thereby forfeeding a welding rod toward the work, means for moving the weldingcarriage to deposit a layer of weld metal on the work, a cam secured tosaid work support, guiding mechanism carried by said carriage for co- Itshall be understood that any suitable aroperation with said cam, andmeans for adjusting the positional relation of said mechanism to saidcarriage to thereby vary the positional relation of said welding rodwith respect to the work whereby successive side-by-side layers of weldmay be deposited on the work.

3. Welding apparatus comprising a carriage, means carried thereby forfeeding a welding rod toward the work, means for moving the weldingcarriage to deposit a layer of weld metal on the work, a cam secured tosaid work support, guiding mechanism carried by said carriage andcomprising a roller coactable with said cam, and means for adjusting theposition of said roller with respect to said carriage to thereby varythe positional relation of said welding rod with respect to the workwhereby successive side-by-side layers of weld metal may be deposited onthe work.

4. Welding apparatus comprising a workpiece support, a guide cam securedthereto having a contour corresponding to a desired weld path, a weldinghead movable over said support, both along said cam and laterallythereof, means carrying said head for said movement, a camiollowersecured to said welding head, unitary means for adjusting the lateraldistance between said camfollower and said head, and means to enforceengagement of said camfollower with said cam; said head being movablealong and over said workpiece support for a welding pass while beingguided laterally by said cam, and, by adjusting said means, beingmovable in another pass over said workpiece support parallel to andspaced from the first pass while being guided laterally by said cam.

5. Welding apparatus comprising a workpiece support, a guide cam securedthereto having a contour corresponding to a desired weld path, a weldinghead movable over said support, both along said cam and laterallythereof, means carrying said head for said movement, a camiollowersecured to said welding head, unitary means for adjusting the lateraldistance between said camfollower and said head, and means to enforceengagement of said camiollower with said cam; said head being movablealong and over said workpiece support for a welding pass while beingguided laterally by said cam, and, by adjusting said means, beingmovable in another pass over said workpiece support parallel to andspaced from the first pass while being guided laterally by said cam;said unitary adjusting means comprising a screw connection between saidhead and camiollower, the screw axis lying at an angle to the weld path.

6. A guide arrangement for a movable Welding electrode carriercomprising a bracket extending outwardly from said carrier, a screwmounted upon said bracket the screw axis extending in a direction angledrelative to the normal direction of movement of said electrode carrierover work to be Welded, a member movably mounted for position adjustmentby rotation of said screw, a roller carried by said member and rotatableon an axis substantially parallel to said electrode, and a guide trackengaged by said roller secured to the work to be welded.

BEN W. WRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,532,842 Stresau April 7, 19251,860,172 Chapman May 24, 1932 1,884,645 Ford Oct. 25, 1932 1,886,503Shockey Nov. 8, 1932 1,979,264 Hodge et a1 Nov. 6, 1934 2,404,383Komblutt July 23, 1946

